Mohave Daily News: Top Story

LAUGHLIN - Well owners will get a chance Monday to get information on a federal attempt to further regulate Tri-state well water.

The Bureau of Reclamation will hold a meeting Monday in Laughlin to answer public questions on a proposed rule concerning the use of the Colorado River. The meeting will be held from 1-3 p.m. Monday in the Taos 1 and Taos 2 conference rooms at the Edgewater Casino, 2020 S. Casino Drive in Laughlin. Other meetings will be held Wednesday and Thursday in Parker, Blythe and Yuma.

The rule would determine which wells in the lower Colorado River are pumping river water. There will also be options for illegal well users to legitimize their use of Colorado River water. The accounting surface involved in the rules stretches along the Colorado River from Hoover Dam to the Mexico border south of Yuma. In the Bullhead City area, the area involves the Colorado River aquifer from Davis Dam to Parker Dam.

BOR's lower Colorado Region Director Lorri Gray said the primary goal is to legalize the use of well water so it can be accounted for. BOR estimates there are 9,000 to 15,000 acre feet of water being unlawfully used. Most of that can be legalized through new contracts between the well owners and the BOR, Gray said.

BOR spokeswoman Ruth Thayer said there are about 5,900 wells so far that have been inventoried by the BOR with the inventory about 80 percent complete. Most of those wells would be considered illegal by the proposed rule. The department stills needs to gather information in the Mohave Valley and Yuma areas.

BOR estimates there are about 16,000 total wells from Hoover Dam to the Mexico border, but many are abandoned or closed. BOR will work with irrigation and water districts to include well owners into the entitlement program.

District 2 Sup. Tom Sockwell said there was already a study done about eight years ago to determine whether the water in the aquifer is considered groundwater or part of the Colorado River. The BOR did not consider the water as groundwater.

Property owners already must get permits from the Arizona Department of Water Resources to drill a well. If the well produces more than 35 gallons a minute that well must be recorded with the state, Sockwell said.

State Rep. Nancy McLain of Bullhead City said she had more questions than answers, including if there are additional costs to the well owner.

BOR has not determined what the fees would be for well owners in Arizona or Nevada. Well owners within a water or irrigation district may or may not be charged depending on the district. Well owners in California outside a water district will pay a one-time fee of $408 and an annual fee of about $50, Thayer said.

The department will gather public comments for 60 days before finalizing the rule. The four meetings next week are informational only. The process could take months if not years, Thayer said.

Written comments can be submitted to the BOR by Sept. 15 by e-mail or through the regular mail. To submit e-mails go to the Web site www.regulations.gov and use docket ID. BOR-2008-0001. Comments can also be mailed to the BOR, Attn: BC00-1000, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City, NV., 89006-1470.

Copies of the map and other information on the proposed rule can be found on the BOR Web site at www.usbr.gov/lc/ region/programs/ unlawfuluse .html.